WAR veterans and town councillors joined in a short service to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the end of the Falklands War in Ellesmere this week.

The 40th anniversary commemorations in Ellesmere were held at St Mary's Church, in Church Street, on Tuesday, June 14 as town councillors and members of the public joined representatives of the Ellesmere branch of the Royal British Legion.

Bugler Becky Cooper played the Last Post, the traditional music signifying the final rest of a soldier, to mark two minutes silence.

The service was led by Rev Pat Hawkins, the Vicar of Ellesmere, while poppy wreaths were laid by Legion branch chairman Bob McBride and a representative of the local Army Cadets.

Legion branch president Ian Williams, who is also county branch chairman, said it was important to remember that the conflict had cost the lives of 255 British servicemen and 649 Argentine servicemen as well as three civilians.

Mr Williams paid tribute to the members of the armed forces who served in the short conflict.

He said: “Around 30,000 British sailors, marines, soldiers, airmen and merchant mariners took part in the Falklands War along with many civilians who supported the war effort.

"Liberating the Falkland Islands was a daring and difficult mission that could not have been achieved without the bravery and dedication of members of the armed forces and civilians who were sent to a conflict 8,000 miles away at a moment’s notice.

"We remember those who gave their lives and all those who were injured and who still carry the scars of war.”

Mr Williams also recalled how the conflict ended on June 14, 1982 when Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher received a telex message to say that Argentine forces had surrendered in the Falklands capital, Port Stanley.

It brought to an end a conflict that began 10 weeks earlier when troops from Argentina attempted to reclaim the British colony in the South Atlantic in a long-running dispute over sovereignty.